Underfell Chapter 9

Sans teleported as quickly as he could to reach the lab but his constant spam of magic left him drained and he only got as far as the mushroom cavern. Groaning with irritation, he set at a brisk walk towards Hotland. He needed to act quickly before he was too late.

Sans forehead was covered in sweat and his breathing was uneven. He felt drained and extremely tired. As he neared Gerson’s shop, he decided to inquire the River Person for a ride. His legs felt shaky and he needed to rest. Taking a right, he approached the cloaked monster with unsteady steps. They turned quietly to face him and he felt unease settle into his soul but he shook it off.

“I need a ride to Hotland!” The River Person wordlessly motioned him onto the boat and as soon as he was seated, the boat began to drift down the river.

The sway of the tide made his non-existent stomach churn and he curled in on himself. Closing his eyes, he hoped to dispel the feeling but his breathing hitched as flashing images filled his head. Tensing, his fingers gripped the bottom of his seat tightly. He couldn’t make out much, but he saw a vision of himself standing in Snowend… or Snowdin! He was facing a strange child that just oozed a dark sickening aura and they were talking to him. He couldn’t make out what they were saying. Turning his attention away from the child, Sans turned to speak to his brother. Papyrus! He was dressed completely different and he looked frightened.  With a loud gasp, he realized this memory was from before they ended up in their current state and he knew without a doubt that the disturbing child was the cause for why the underground had changed. Somehow, he was remembering his past life and was fighting through the illusion the child had put on the monsters.  The memory momentarily flickered before he suddenly saw a black mass of energy directed at him. He tried to jump out of the way out of reflex but then he remember that this was a vision and he couldn’t actually react. He expected the attack not to bother his as well but as the aura hit him in his memory, a blinding pain coursed through his body and he dropped to the bottom of the boat writhing and screaming in pain. The memory he was viewing started to dissipate and he could tell that whatever sort of illusion the child had cast was trying to make him forget again.

The River Person immediately dropped down to his side and summoned a warm aura that encompassed his body and soothed the pain. His body still hurt like hell but it was a lot more manageable and his screams turned into silent moans and pants.

Sans sat up with shaky limbs, while the river person guided him back to his seat. Sitting down, he clasped his hands onto his head and just sat bunched trying to sort through all this new information. The memory was still there, and he could feel the curse trying to set back in but something was blocking it. It thrashed madly in frustration to gain control once more but after a while, the struggling ceased and he could take deep breaths to calm his throbbing skull. The pain was dulling thankfully just as they pulled up at the shores of Hotland. Not wanting to waste any time questioning what the hell just happened, Sans leapt off the boat and bolted up the steps towards the lab. He rounded the corner but quickly jumped back behind the wall to peer out. On the other side stood a large group of monsters, They were all facing the lab with looks of anticipation. His eyes scanned the group before they narrowed in on Grillby at the back of the group.

As if sensing his presence, Grillby’s attention broke away from the door to turn in his direction. His flames flickered momentarily to give away he had noticed him but his expression overall remained blank.

Breaking eye contact with Sans, he stepped back a few feet before hollering out, “We’ve captured the last human! Let us bring out the booze and celebrate!” His call snapped all the monsters attention to him and they all rushed off without a second thought. It wasn’t like standing outside watching a door for a few hours would accomplish anything, so the idea of a party made them all eager.

Grillby didn’t even bother to look back as he turned to follow the group of monsters. Regardless, Sans whispered quietly under his breath, “thank you.” Before sneaking over to the door and slipping in.
…..
Papyrus approached Frisk in strides and grabbed his hair roughly before yanking her head back to stare him in the eyes.

“I don’t get what’s so fascinating about you. You’re just another ugly human. You haven’t done anything particularly special and you reek of dirt and sweat. When’s the last time you’ve bathed?” Shoving her backwards, Papyrus paced around the room with his hands clasped behind his back and eyes running up and down the walls at the strange symbols. He didn’t look to be all that particularly interested in the symbols until something caught his eye and he paused.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Papyrus turned to face Alphys with a deep scowl.

The lizard scientist looked at him quizzically before grunting. “Do you take me for the joking type?”

“Mmm… suppose not… then mind explaining what all these symbols are doing plastered along these walls?”

As he paced around, Frisk kept her eyes locked on him. Papyrus felt much more threatening than Alphys and Undyne did, which was saying something.

“They just appeared yesterday out of nowhere. That Is why I had Undyne bring the human to me alive!  I wanted to see if they had any idea…” Alphys’ thoughts trailed off as she fixed Frisk with an intense stare.

 Frisk met her stare before glancing around the room.

“I have no idea what they are…” Frisk’s mind went into over drive as she realized that response was basically a death sentence. If she wasn’t sure, then she was of no more use.

She wasn’t the only one that noticed. Papyrus turned his attention away from the symbols to smirk down at her.

“That means we are good to go then. No use keeping this pest around right?”

“None at all so we might as well add her to the collection of souls and be done with it!” Alphys added with antsy fumbling hands.

Papyrus walked up to Frisk, who held her ground and stared defiantly up at him.

“At least you’re finally showing some backbone, however…” Papyrus summoned a blue bone and swung it at her. Frisk tensed for the impact but the bone harmlessly slipped through her body. She stared at the weapon in confusion before she recognized the attack and her expression relaxed ever so slightly.

“Intriguing… did my brother tell you about my blue attack or were you just that stupid to hold your ground?” The bone in his hand dissipated and he held his chin in thought. “Hm… no… you’re expression says otherwise… you’ve seen my attack before, haven’t you?” Frisk nodded her head slowly.

“If that is the case then perhaps she is telling the truth…” Papyrus wasn’t talking to anyone in particular, he was barely even speaking over a whisper. If she wasn’t standing directly in front of him, she might not have heard. Frisk stared up with hopeful eyes. Would Papyrus actually let her go? As if he’d read her mind, Frisk’s whole body erupted with pain and she painfully dropped to the ground, smacking her head on the wall in the process. Opening her eyes wide, she realized Papyrus had slammed his foot into her gut.

“What’s with that sickening expression? Were you hoping I’d help? Don’t make me laugh bitch! You’re the last soul we need to become freed of this wretched place. So be a good little sack of trash and hold still while I kill you!” Before she had time to react, a bone shot through the floor and went through her shoulder. Frisk screamed and reached out to grab the bone but it disappeared as quickly as it came. To feel penetrated and then empty all within the span of a few seconds felt agonizing and then relieving. But that relief was short lived as she realized she was bleeding out. Without something acting as a cork, she would drain away until she went into shock and died. That was the least of her worries… she was more than likely going to be tortured before that happened. The glint in Papyrus’ eye showed how much he was enjoying inflicting pain. Just as she feared, a second bone shot through the floor, but this time she was waiting and she rolled to the side just as it niched her side. Hissing, Frisk scrambled to her feet to face the skeleton head on. Alphys and Undyne sat back to watch. They appeared to be enjoying the show just a much as Papyrus was enjoying stabbing her to death. Holding her shoulder, blood soaked through her fingers and pooled onto the stone floor.

“Papyrus, please…” The smell of blood made Frisk’s head spin but she shook it off. She needed to do something before it was too late. “I don’t want to fight you!”

“Not like you can!” Papyrus’ grin widened and he summoned another bone to use as a club. Frisk screamed inside her head at her own inability to act instead of just pleading and standing around. Since she first got here, she had done nothing but whine, feel sorrowful and miss her old friends. She needed to become stronger, she needed to reach out more… and she needed to apologize to Flowey first chance she got…

As if a switch was flipped, Frisk straightened her back and smiled gently, before she approached Papyrus calmly.

“What are you doing?” Papyrus stepped back slightly. “Come any closer and your death will be a lot more unpleasant.” His warning fell on deaf ears as Frisk closed the gap. Blood shot through her mouth as a bone ripped through her stomach but she didn’t care, with outstretched hands, she grabbed either side of his face and pulled him down to kiss his cheek before whispering, “I love you…” Withdrawing, she gave him once last smile before she slid down his chest to the ground in a heap.

“STOP! Don’t hurt Frisk!” All the monsters’ in the room turned startled eyes to the doorway just as Sans bolted through the opening. His face paled beyond the off-white of his boney structure at the sight of the bloodied room and Frisk’s crumbled body.

“Oh God, OH GOD, OH GOD! No no no no no NO NO NO!” Sans shoved his brother away as he scooped up the frail human.

“Frisk! Sis! Brat! Anything… please tell me you’re not dead!” He inhaled sharply as his palm rested against Frisk’ chest to feel their heart still pumping slowly within their chest.

Papyrus, Undyne and Alphys all watched on feeling lost, confused and slightly bothered. Papyrus especially was feeling very unsettled. He realized he might have just made a very big mistake. Something about what the human said made his soul ache and tugged at his memories.

All thoughts snapped back to the present as a chill settled over the room and Sans’ body began to glow a mix of red, blue and purple.

Holding the human against his chest, Sans poured every ounce of his remaining magic into healing their open wounds. There was still time… he could fix this, he could save them… He could feel their life slipping away and he started to cry in desperation. It’s not working! It’s not enough!

Papyrus’ soul dropped at the display. He couldn’t remember ever seeing his brother cry, even when he received the worse kind of torture. He always had that smug grin on his face… well not like he could help grinning, but despite that, he was always able to shift through all the expressions regardless.

Unable to just sit by and watch as his brother fall apart, Papyrus sent out his magic to strengthen his brother’s. Sans jumped startled at the renewed strength and glanced over at his brother. Papyrus crossed his arms and turned away with a frown. What was he even doing? He just tried to kill the human and now he’s trying to save it!? But… deep down, he felt that he was doing the right thing.

Alphys and Undyne exchanged unreadable expressions. They couldn’t make sense of what was going on. Papyrus never showed mercy or compassion. Yet after trying to brutally murder the human, he was now trying to save her! What the hell!

The room was silent and tense for hours. Alphys had tried to intervene or at least reason with the bone heads, but Sans fired a warning shot directed to the side of her head. Alphys quickly got the clue and darted off with Undyne following closely behind. She grumbled a few intelligible words as she left.

 Once alone, Sans stiff shoulders relaxed ever so slightly.

“Why are you helping me?” He asked quietly.

 Papyrus shifted on his heels and fiddled with his gloves as he pondered the question. Why had he helped? He had no reason to. He was the one who wanted to kill her. She was just brain washing them. Or maybe that was just what he wanted to believe… They needed the seventh soul. Here it was, so why was he helping heal her…? Why did he feel so damn guilty?

“I don’t know…” He whispered back.

Sans turned his head away from Frisk to stare at his brother in confusion. He had talked so quietly he didn’t quite hear what he said. “What was that?”

“I SAID I DON’T KNOW, ALRIGHT! After I struck her down and you showed up, I just suddenly felt guilty! ME THE GREAT PAPYRUS GUILTY?! HA, how laughable!”

“Perhaps you are remembering like me…”

“And please pray tell what you mean by that!?”

“Surely Frisk tried to explain to you… our past life. This world wasn’t always like this. To her, it happened spontaneously, to us, we have only known this world… but I remember… Papyrus, I remember how things use to be, the surface, our home and our family!!!”

Papyrus opened his mouth to retort but his voice died in his throat and he clamped up. What could he say? He was starting to believe it… the aching still wasn’t going away… “…say I believe this ‘other world,’ then how did we end up here and how do we get back?”

“F-for how we got here… there was… another child. And how to get back… I don’t know…”

“You don’t know!? Well isn’t this just fucking great! Without knowing how to go back, then we are just wasting our time!”

“We are not wasting time! We just need to get Frisk back up on her feet and set a plan!”

“Or we can just take her soul to the king and break out of here to the surface instead of running around aimlessly…” Papyrus jumped back as a bone came far too close to impelling his skull.

“You will not harm Frisk any further! Do you understand?” Sans summoned one of his Gaster Blasters and faced it towards his brother with its mouth unhinged and hot red and blue energy swirling inside. Papyrus sputtered at the sight. “W-what is that? H-h-how?”

Papyrus moved closer to inspect it. With wary hands, he touched the surface in awe as the skull followed his movements with calculating eyes.

“Is it alive?” His previous thoughts were lost to his excitement of the new thing or creature. Sans just shrugged and idly smirked as his brother’s youthful curiosity got the better of him. It was good to see his brother still carried some of the traits of his previous self.

As he watched Papyrus interact with the large floating skull, he carefully picked up Frisk and placed her in his lap. She was already looking a lot better. The blood had dried to her clothes and made her look awful but the wounds themselves were closed and her soul was burning back to its bright red glow.

After a while, Papyrus lost interest in the attack and leaned up against the wall in the doorway to cast glances down the hall. Every once in a while he would glance at Sans and Frisk but he tried to do so without being caught.
……
He wasn’t sure at what point he dozed off, but Sans awoke to Frisk twisting and turning in his arms and whimpering loudly in her sleep. Papyrus had slumped to the floor and was napping as well but he snapped awake quickly when he heard Frisk’s cry.

“What’s wrong with her?” Papyrus asked with annoyance.

“She’s having a nightmare!” Sans replied with equal annoyance. He of all monsters understood what it was like to have nightmares and they were the worse.

“Hey brat!” Sans shook her shoulders. Frisk’s eyes shot open and out of reflex, she punched Sans under the jaw and he toppled backwards with a groan. Realizing her mistake and immediately regretting her actions as a painful throb set into her fist from the hard contact to bone, she hastily apologized.

“Sans! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to…” she trailed off as soon as she caught sight of Papyrus and she scrambled to her feet in a ready to fight stance. Papyrus rolled his eyes and stood as well, followed by Sans.

“Don’t worry, he’s not going to hurt you anymore. Isn’t that right Papyrus?” Sans asked with a subtle warning.

“Ugh… yes, I don’t have any more desire to turn you in… for now.”

“Good. Now that we are on the same page, do you mind answering a few questions Frisk?”